We left our band in the midst of introductions with Lady Aurelius, which devolved into a long RP session. Being as the Lady was a sage specializing in Draco/Giant history, she filled the group in on what she called The Fall of the Giants, wherein the so-called Firstborn of the Titans went from being a noble race of craftsmen and protectors to the fractured and fractious rival breeds that are known today. Mix in generous doses of treachery, both human and demonic, and a war of dominance with the Draconic Conclave, and she put many of the group’s questions to rest.

Throughout the course of this tale, Tahiri grew more and more tense, finally fleeing the library and barricading herself in her room. It was soon learned that the Princess of Athenia had been kidnapped as a child and held captive by dragon-kin for six years before being freed, and so much talk of draconic rule and whatnot was beginning to cause her quite a bit of discomfort. Probing her deeply with her mind, Aurelius also discovered to Tahiri’s great alarm that she was pregnant! Shocked and confused about how this was possible (she insisted that she was a virgin), the young Jedi finally calmed herself and sought answers from the Force.

While Lady Aurelius returned to her other guests, Tahiri spent several hours in a trance. Though the mechanism and the circumstances remained unclear, Tahiri eventually accepted that she was, in fact, pregnant. Moreover, she learned that the father of the child (a son) she was carrying was that of her companion, Taz! Moreover, she learned that this son had a strong destiny, both in the Force and in mundane affairs, as he would serve as the nexus for a new knighthood that would reunite the shattered precincts of the Great Kingdom and usher in a long period of peace and prosperity. The only caveat to this was that Taz could not know, for if he knew, he would forsake the path he currently walked, and the world would be the worse for it.

Returning to her companions, Tahiri announced that she would not be able to continue with them, as she had learned of a “family matter” that took precedence. She made her goodbyes, and, with the loan of a hippogriff from the Lady’s stables, departed. After this bit of drama, having baited her hook, Lady Aurelius began setting it. She told the others of a way in which they could safely activate and utilize that Celestine Arch they knew of in the Barrier Peaks, and would share this info… for a price. It seemed that one of the younger sons of the fire giants back in the Occupied Lands had discovered a strange metal door that led into a vast fortress that the Lady could neither scry into nor fit herself through, as something at the portal dispelled magic as it passed.

Various divinations she had performed, however, indicated that if the fire giant mastered the unknown magic that was held within the fortress, the giants would have the strength to expand their borders once again, bringing even more human lands under their dominion. So the party, with the addition of a certain sorcerer/cleric the Lady vouched for, entered the strange metal hallways beyond the door.

As we ended for the evening, Kitiana had addressed a strange humanoid looking robot , who lurched in her direction and attempted to grapple her onto the nearby (operating) table…

After spending the night fleeing the giants overland and through fields, the party returned to the roads shortly after dawn, rather than trying to hole up somewhere. Soon enough, though, another group of giants attacked, but this time with much more lethal success.

Taz spurred his mount to charge one of the armored mountain trolls, and while he did hurt it, it quickly smashed the life out of him. Alexander and Lassiter were both killed by a second troll, while Tahiri and Elissa accounted for the rest, one way or another.

At this point, the party decided that perhaps they should have heeded the warnings when they entered the Contested Lands, and Alianna teleported the group back to Thornwald. Maps were consulted, their companions raised, and the group then elected to attempt their trek into the Barrier peaks from the Ull side of the range.

As the group made their way west and then south into the Plains, Alianna re-experienced a vision that she’d had several months prior to that point. Taking it as a sign that they were somehow closer to the locale featured in the vision, Tahiri sought answers in the Force, and learned that the mist-shrouded pillars were north west of their current location. The group employed their flying carpet to sail over the sea, and when Alianna spotted a familiar grouping, the party set down amid the rolling lawns atop the chosen pillar.

As they approached the doors of the palace that sat in the center, they opened of their own accord and the group was soon met by the Lady Aurelius, which was where we ended for this week.

A few days after the incident in the field, the group encountered a turnstile in the road, and were informed by the guards manning it that they were entering the Occupied Lands, formerly known as the Duchy of Geoff. After each swearing that they understood where they were bound, the group was allowed to pass, and soon thereafter Elzedar broke away from the group to scout ahead for dangers on the road. The diminished party soon came to another turnstile, this one manned by ogres, an ettin, and a formorian.

Tahiri tried her mind tricks, which worked on the ogres but not on the formorian, who doubled her toll to pass for her trouble. As they traveled the trade roads towards the nearest village, the group found the pastoral scenery not so very different from other lands, if you ignored the ogre taskmasters walking among the human laborers in the fields. Tahiri tried passing gold coins to the workers as they passed, but was soon rebuked by one of the taskmasters who, after hearing her explanation of why she’d given away the money, gave her horse a coin so that IT could buy itself some extra food, as well. The concept that the giants viewed the humans as mere animals did not sit well with anyone, least of all Tahiri.

The oppression continued into the nearest town, where humans could clearly be seen doing only menial chores, except for the merchants staying at the one inn set aside for foreigners. After offending the merchants and the serfs alike with their foreign values, the group elected to continue on to yet the next town, where they arrived slightly after dark and took lodgings at a nearly identical inn as the one in the town before.

Shortly after midnight, the innkeeper awoke the group and told them that the local potentate, a fire giant, demanded their services (and it would be wise of them to grant his request). Towing the party sans horses out into the fields, he explained that a land-shark had been terrorizing his serfs and tearing up his fields; as obvious mercenaries, it was their job to kill it.

Stalking up to the mound of earth the group believed was the land-shark caused it to erupt instead into a formorian! From several other points around the field ogres also rose up and a general melee was joined. All through the battle the fire giant merely watched, though as the group slaughtered the last of their ambushers he lifted a horn to his lips and blew. Not wishing to face reinforcements, the group fled back to the inn, gathered their horses, and rode out into the night, knowing that now they would be hunted, as the fire giant’s only explanation for the ambush had been to explain that it was a test to gauge how much of a threat the group posed to the land…

The next day, Khelben invited Kitiana and her group to dinner, and after an excellent meal got down to his dissection of the poem/prophesy they’d placed before him. While his goddess had offered him no new insights, he did point out that in the distant past, a kingdom of giants had ruled a large portion of Toril, and that those giants had, in their writings, spoken of an even earlier ‘golden age’ in which all giants had been of one race, and had ruled an even greater empire.

The only truly new thought he interjected was that it was obvious from certain passages that others would be passing into the past as well, and that those others might have means of making the journey or knowledge that the party lacked. He also noted that there were magical arts how long lost that could flourish anew, if only someone brought the knowledge of them back with them.

The next day the group splintered, with Akono and Emerald, for separate reasons, deciding to remain behind on Toril. The remaining members were teleported to Baronia, and traveled the Celestial Road to the city of Shatura, in what was known as the Sunelan Empire, a land none members of the party except Firax1s had ever heard of. Alexander, of Suloise descent himself, was surprised to find that it claimed direct descent from the ancient Suel Imperium of old, and that it had escaped the Rain of Colorless Fire that had destroyed the Imperium’s heartlands so long ago.

After a few days of sightseeing and whatnot, Firax1s teleported the group back to Greyhawk City in clumps. Several more days were spent refitting and resupplying, but at last the group set out for the Barrier Peaks. Travel was uneventful in Veluna, but as they slept at an inn in the Lorridges one night, their horses (and only theirs) were slain in their stables. Kitiana, using a combination of spells, questioned the spirits of the dead horses, who knew only that they had been slain by oddly scented ‘not men’ who came from ‘over there’.

Several nights later, camping in a field in Bissel, the group was assaulted in the dark of night by six golden hued warriors dressed much like ninjas, who bore silenced stones on their persons and threw small bombs filled with sleep poison. As we broke for the evening, the group stood victorious over their foes, who one by one vanished like popping soap bubbles…

The group elected to stop at the ‘city’ of Tarsis before continuing north so that they might resupply and rest before their long journey. A day or so beyond Tarsis, they noticed a group shadowing them, and at nightfall, Elzedar crept back to investigate, and did not return.

Growing concerned, the rest of the group set out in search of him, finally encountering a small force of knights upon a hilltop, along with a single figure of gnome or halfling size. In parlay, the group learned that the knights served the gnome that the party had left naked and tied to a tree the previous year, who now sought to avenge the insult upon the party. After indicating the direction in which Elzedar might be found, the group rode off, leaving the party to finds their friend.

Soon thereafter, the group spotted the remains of an ancient trebuchet silhouetted against the stars, and saw Elzedar tied by his hands to the arm of it, and by his feet to a stake in the ground. As Kitiana approached him to release him, she set off a tripwire that sent him flying into the sky, to land nearly 400 yards away with a mighty thump. Kitiana apologized profusely, healed his wounds, and the group returned to their camp for an uneasy night.

No further attacks befell the group, though while passing through the city of Solanthus Taz’s ax ‘woke up’ and began speaking to him telepathically in a rapid succession of voices; it was apparently both intelligent and slightly schizophrenic. Upon reaching Palanthus once more, the ax began to share it’s opinions vocally with Alex and Akono while Alex shopped for an engagement ring for Kitiana, and Alex wound up purchasing an entire collection of jewelry because of it.

Returning to the inn, Akono took Kitiana aside and explained that the jewelry was from Taz, and when she took Taz aside to discuss matters, Alex and Akono got into a heated argument about what was going on which allowed Alex to proclaim his true feelings at full volume just as Kitiana was descending the stairs. In the end, True Love™ won out and Kitiana accepted Alex’s proposal (though the ax and Phil the monkey made him spell it out in specific terms).

Later that same night, after all the revelry at the inn, thieves attempted to steal the jewelry, but were thwarted and fled. The next morning the group set out on the Celestial Road to Athenia, where Tahiri made her report to the Council, and was acclaimed a full Knight at last. The Council also bade her to continue with the group for a time, as they sensed strange currents in the Force surrounding their endeavors.

Leaving Athenia, Alianna, Elissa, Kitiana, and even Firax1s and Tahiri all felt a moment of unease shudder through Toril’s Weave as the Calcification took hold. The group then traveled to Waterdeep, to visit the Thann’s townhouse, so that Alex could officially ask Kitiana’s father permission to marry her. As we ended the night, permission had been given, and Khelben (who had been invited to dinner at Kitiana’s request) agreed to research the poem/prophesy the group held, to see if he could wring any more insights from it…

We left the group facing a large number of monks and mechanicals in one of the courtyards of the Sargonnan Monestary on Ch’krynn. As we rejoin them, the battle rages on, and begins to look fairly bleak for our heroes. Nearly everyone has sustained serious injuries, and the leader of the force sent to engage the group blithely carves his way through Omi in his path towards Tahiri, killing the young druid.

In the end, however, the Fists hare are defeated, though the mechanicals flee the scene once their living commanders are slain. Several smaller, off-camera fights ensue as the group forces their way to the tower where Gosp and the flying ship are moored.

As the group emerges from the final flight of stairs, the last group boarding the ship turns to deal with them at Gosp’s command. While half the force makes it across the ramp to the group, half does not, and is callously thrown to their deaths by one of Gosp’s associates when he flings the ramp into the courtyard 120’ below in an effort to prevent the group from reaching the ship.

Tahiri uses the group’s flying carpet to reach Gosp, and kills him with a critical hit on her first blow. others soon join her through a dimension door provided by Firax1s, but the group reconsiders their idea when dozens more of the monks come flowing up the ramps out of the hold; perhaps retreat is more viable?

As we ended the night, the group was on their way northward again towards Palanthus, hoping to catch the Celestial Road directly back to Athenia so that Tahiri could make her report to the Council…

Arriving in Palanthus, the group was met at the docks by Sir Mintet d’Avere, captain of the city watch. They were given invitations to dine that evening at the Mayoral estate, and even given vouchers with which to purchase clothing appropriate to the occasion. Many of the party elected to add their own funds to those granted by the city, to purchase even more elaborate attire.

Though everyone had a fine time at the ball in their honor, one incident did occur; Kitiana and Omi spotted a waiter who was not what he seemed; rather than a simple human, he appeared to their eyes to be a gnome masquerading in the guise of a human; this figure escaped before he could be caught and interrogated, however.

While at the ball, Tahiri met some old friends of her father’s, who knew of a companion who had spoken once of the Fists of Sargon; on his advice the party set out the next day for the dwarven nation of Thorbardin, which was near to the monastery the Fists inhabited.

Many days later, the group arrived on the southern slopes of the Khalkist Mts., where they soon located the monastery. Vast tracts of farmland circled the place, tended by hobgoblins and men, working together. As they approached the monastery, they were met by a young acolyte named Tavok who gave them a brief tour, and politely informed Tahiri that Master Gosp was not currently in residence.

After their tour, the party retreated to their camp a few miles away to think. Tahiri received a vision of Gosp’s return and subsequent departure, and Kitiana’s divination revealed that having come so far, it was too soon to depart. That night, while Omi underwent the rituals to attract a new animal companion, Elzedar sought a hidden entrance to the monastery and found one, one that held secrets of interest to Firax1s…

Beneath the stables at the foot of the 2000 steps that led to the monastery, Elzedar found a trap door that led to some secret passages that led within the monastery; he also found a room containing almost a hundred mechanical warriors with strange symbols on each of their breasts that Elzedar was certain were numbers. A nearby chamber held a device that appeared to tear a hole in space between two arcs of electricity, through which a wooded field could be observed.

The next morning, the group entered the monastery shortly after dawn revealed the return of ‘Master’ Gosp and his flying ship, only to find the mechanical men missing and the other machine powered down. Tahiri destroyed the available equipment with her lightsaber, then the group attempted to brazen their way through the monastery using robes stolen from the laundry…

Several armored strangers in ill fitting robes were quickly herded into one of the courtyards, where a number of monks, masters, and a smattering of the mechanicals could deal with the invaders…

Given the leads Tahiri had discovered to the murderer of her teacher, the group set out to try and reach the lands of the ‘hidden moon’, known to the more learned members of the party as the world of Krynn. The group travels by barge south to Hardby, where they manage to find a vessel bound the city of Flotsam (not Palanthus as they had hoped, but at least on the same continent).

One long and somewhat astrologically confusing sea journey later, the group spends a few last days skirting the edges of a huge whirlpool before coming in to dock at the ‘city’ of Flotsam. Much fun with Kender ensues before the group gets their bearings (and a map) and decides to continue their journey by boat rather than cross the continent by horse.

A little over two weeks later they are rounding the northern coast of the continent when a large pirate vessel attacks the ship they are aboard, and a battle is fought. Though half the crew of the pirate vessel were pathetic archers, the main force of barbarians nearly defeated the party (who were not looking forward to being sold as slaves).

The battle came to an abrupt halt when Tahiri used her powers of illusion to convince nearly every member of the pirate crew that a huge gold dragon had arrived and ordered them to surrender; the one pirate who made his save was killed the next initiative by Akono, thus leaving no chance for his fellows to make a second save. The captain of the vessel they were traveling aboard transferred his crew to the larger vessel, accepted parole from those pirates willing to give it to sail his own vessel, and a few weeks later the group finally arrived in Palanthus.

We rejoin the group in the Pig and Otyugh Inn in southern Greyhawk, where the group is assembling for breakfast as they usually do. Akono awakens to discover that not only has someone shaved him in a rather delicate place, but a small doll made from the hairs is resting on the nightstand near his bed. As Emerald comes to his door to check on him (Akono being seldom late for breakfast), she arrives just in time to hear him hastily throwing his things together and breaks into his room as he’s going out the window.

She raises the alarm, and Tahiri races outside, clotheslining Akono and demanding to know why he’s running; they scuffle a bit, and she eventually relents and allows him to make off in haste for whatever destination he has in mind.

Meanwhile, Emerald shows the grotesque little doll to Kitiana, who recognizes it as a primitive magical fetish, a device used by those who practice sympathetic magic. Tahiri examines it on her return, and while meditating on it’s significance, receives a vision of a younger Akono being forced to marry a fierce Amazon woman, and his eventually fleeing their home with what looks like her sword.

Akono contacts Kitiana later, bidding her to meet him at another inn, and to come alone. She leaves Tahiri and Alexander outside, but is followed by Omi’s wolf, whom Akono tries to poison with some blown dust from a blowgun. Ushering Kitiana inside, he convinces her to accompany him out the window, into a nearby alley, and into a waiting coach to yet another inn, where he explains his predicament: his family has tracked him down, and he wishes to avoid them. He tells her that he will contact the rest of the group in 36 hours at the inn they just evacuated, then ushers her out.

Eventually the group reunites and Akono explains that he is trying to avoid his wife’s sister, who has been hunting him for some time. While these explanations are going on, the bartender remarks to Tahiri that her lightsaber is the second one he’s seen that day; learning that a man in a heavy cloak had met with a local Rhenee and another man, she sets off to search out the Rhenee, dragging Akono, Alex, and Kitiana along.

Upon finding the Rhenee Yanni on his family barge, Tahiri learns that he met with a man he knows named Caleb and a stranger who called himself Gosp (who matches the description of the stranger) concerning transport for some friends. Bribed liberally, Yanni agrees to stow Tahiri away aboard the boat that will be taking Gosp’s associates out on the lake for some unknown purpose the following night.

On their way back to the inn, they encounter Allonda, Akono’s sister-in-law. While trading veiled threats with one another, the group learns that Akono has stolen her sister’s sword, and with it, her honor. Allonda has come to recover both sword and Akono, so that he can be
brought home to apologize to his wife, return her sword, and, since he so obviously covets the weapons of an Amazon, to become one in a magical ritual which will transform him into a woman.

Tahiri informs Allonda that Akono is under her protection, and that she will not allow him to be taken anywhere by force. Allonda takes her leave, informing those present that she will have what she came for, one way or another.

The following morning Akono and Tahiri come down to breakfast and almost instantly fall for each other as a powerful curse cast by Allonda the night before takes hold. Both Kitiana and Alianna attempt to break the curse, and Alianna succeeds before they make it back up to their rooms upstairs.

Later that day Tahiri stows away aboard the skiff that would have taken Gosp’s associates out onto the lake, but she reveals herself before the skiff even cast off and launches into a duel with the two cloaked hobgoblins who come aboard at the appointed hour. Both wield double-bladed swords that are able to parry her lightsaber with ease. One falls to a critical hit early on, but his associate almost kills Tahiri before Akono and Kitiana arrive to save her ass.

The first of the two hobgoblins dissolves into a strange black oil, but the second does not, and is questioned via Speak with Dead, which yields some information. A divination cast by Kitiana later gains them the following info: “The Fists of Sargon guard their Temple well, across a sea of stars that can be crossed by foot or by sail. Beneath the Hidden Moon it lies, unknown to lesser men or beasts”. On hearing this, Tahiri recalls only that several hundred years ago one named Sargon fell out with the leaders of her Order, and was never heard from again.

Her own meditations of the matter reveal only that the man who slew her own Master stands before a huge stone temple on a snow covered mountain, and from where he stands, a vast snowy plain can be easily surveyed…

Alianna's Dream

At one point, before you were preparing to use your crystal to send another collection of memories off to Dunkelzahn, as you touch the crystal you mind fills with the image seen from flight.

Several dozen stone pillars rise from the sea in a cloud of mist. As you draw closer to them, you can see that each one is quite large, the smallest at least an acre in area, the largest several miles. All of them rise no less than 1000 feet above the waters, the widest of the towers being the tallest. Most have striations or shelves about their circumference, and one on the outer edge clearly has a broad, circular stairway crawling up the outermost edge.

One of these towers draws your eye, and like a dragon on the wing, you drop towards it. A delicate marble palace, like something out of a dream, sits at the top of the pillar, surrounded by vast stretches of grass, small copses of trees, and a fair number of cattle.